Joshua 16:2
in Joshua 16It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and it went out from Beth-el to Luz, and passed along unto the border of the Archites to Ataroth;
KJV
And goeth out from Beth–el to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,
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This verse in Joshua 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseFrom Bethel to Luz - From Gen 28:19 (note) it appears that the place which Jacob called Beth-el was formerly called Luz; see the note there: but here they seem to be two distinct places. It is very likely that the place where Jacob had the vision was not in Luz, but in some place within a small distance of that city or village, (see the note on Gen 28:12), and that sometimes the whole place was called Beth-el, at other times Luz, and sometimes, as in the case above, the two places were distinguished.
This site's exposition
the lot of the children
on Joshua 16:1-4
Joseph draws one lot for two tribes, and verse 4 names them Manasseh and Ephraim in birth order while the description that follows gives Ephraim his portion first and leaves Manasseh to chapter 17. Genesis 48:14 and 48:19 stand behind that order, where Jacob crossed his hands over the two boys and said the younger brother would be the greater. Verse 2 treats Bethel and Luz as two points on the line, though Genesis 28:19 has Jacob give the old city of Luz the name Bethel; Clarke and Gill both read the sanctuary ground as lying beside the town rather than inside it. Only the southern border is traced here, and the northern side is given at 17:10.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And goeth out from Bethel to Luz,.... For though these two places in time became one, yet they were originally distinct. Bethel, at which Jacob stopped, and who gave it its name, was a field adjacent to the city of Luz, Gen 38:11; and therefore with propriety may be, as they here are, distinguished: and passeth along unto the borders Archi to Ataroth; or to Archiataroth; these two words being the name of one and the same place, and to be joined as they are, in the Greek version, and others; and is the same with Atarothaddar, Jos 16:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Of Archi - (Read “of the Archite,” also a designation of David’s friend Hushai (2Sa 15:32; 2Sa 16:16, etc.). The word is derived from Erech Gen 10:10. But whether there was in the neighborhood of Bethel a place bearing this Babylonian name, or whether a colony from the East had settled in this spot and brought the name with them, is unknown. Ataroth - Called Jos 16:5; Jos 18:13 Ataroth-adar (= “crowns of fame or greatness”) perhaps to distinguish it from two other places bearing the same name but, situated on the other side of Jordan, in the territory of Gad Num 32:34. It is identified with Atara, near the road from Jerusalem to Nablous.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The lot for the descendants of Yoseif came out at the northern border which marked the end of Yehoshua’s conquest. There, the lot fell for them, as stated below, “And the house of Yoseif will remain in their boundary on the north.” 1 See chapter:5.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָצָ֥א | veyatza' | and it goes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִבֵּֽית־ | mibeit- | from Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֖ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| ל֑וּזָה | luzah | Luz towards | H3870 → | 8 times |
| וְעָבַ֛ר | veavar | and it passes on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גְּב֥וּל | gevul | [the] border of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| הָאַרְכִּ֖י | haarki | the Arkite[s] | H757 → | |
| עֲטָרֽוֹת׃ | atarot | Ataroth | H5852 → |
וְיָצָ֥אand it goes out
veyatza'H3318 →1067 times
מִבֵּֽית־from Beth-
mibeit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֖ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
ל֑וּזָהLuz towards
luzahH3870 →8 times
וְעָבַ֛רand it passes on
veavarH5674 →556 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גְּב֥וּל[the] border of
gevulH1366 →240 times
הָאַרְכִּ֖יthe Arkite[s]
haarkiH757 →
עֲטָרֽוֹת׃Ataroth
atarotH5852 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 28:19and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
it leads to
- Hosea 12:4–5
Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
- Genesis 48:3
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Genesis 35:1
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
- 1 Kings 12:29
One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- Genesis 12:8
From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD,…
- Hosea 12:4–5
Through
1 Chronicles 27:33Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 15:12
While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.
- 2 Samuel 15:37
So David’s friend Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.
- 2 Samuel 15:12
Through
Joshua 18:13From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.
it leads to
- Genesis 28:19
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
- Genesis 28:19
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).